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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Kabocha is a Japanese squash. More commonly a pumpkin. This summer has been great for the squash familia. I think I've got my fill of them by the looks of the recipes I've posted these past few month. I was thinking about making some tempura with them, but then I thought of making some sort of baked cookie with them. It's been a while since I've made cookies. Why not? I did make sweet potato biscuits. Why not kabocha cookies, right?

I recently received a jar of some Red Ape Cinnamon, which is pure organic ground Cassia cinnamon from Sumatra. I haven't, at the time, even opened the jar and the smell was so wonderful. Twist the cap open and the aroma fill the air. I love cinnamon. Just the smell of cinnamon and I'm in love. Check out their site to see what other products they offer. It tastes quite lovely to be honest. There's just something about cinnamon that makes it irresistable.

I found a neat trick by mircowaving the kabocha for roughly 5 minutes to get the flesh soft, cooked and easy to handle. It sort of steams them in a way. Make sure you cut them into chunks first. This helps in scooping them out from the skins without have to boil a big pot water.

It's got a little consisteny of a muffin top. I guess I should call these kabocha muffin tops, but I like the sound of cookies better. These are really tasty and with a slight sweetness. A perfect afternoon snack.

Heat the kabocha in the microwave for 5 minutes. Then slice in half. Heat for another five minutes to cook until tender. Let it cool for several minutes before handling. Scoop out the flesh and into the food processor or blender. blend until smooth. You may also mash them, if you don't have either.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Then in another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in egg yolks and the kabocha. Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.

Place on a baking sheet lines with parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes.

I just had a discussion with my in-laws about how I'm totally averse to fresh pumpkin but when it's baked into pies, bars, cookies, etc. it's all good! These cookies put a happy spin on the fact that autumn is here. I prefer 'cookies' - 'muffin tops' have been corrupted so that it only conjures up unfortunate and unappetizing visions for me. 8-P